Social and Economic Justice
Empowering Social Change
NIF works to reduce social and economic gaps as a means of safeguarding democracy and building a cohesive society.
The Israeli public is more united behind the desire for social and economic justice than on any other single issue. With 1 in 3 Israeli children living below the poverty line it’s not hard to figure out why.
Our aim is to speed the inclusion of Israel’s diverse national, gender, ethnic and geographic population groups into an increasingly unequal economy, allowing for social mobility and for stronger civic and political engagement. Specifically, our work focuses on some of the most critical root causes of socio-economic gaps: the lack of housing options, growing poverty and “built-in” inequality at the local and community level.
Working across party lines in the Knesset, our intense efforts helped put the issue of public housing on the national agenda more forcefully than ever before. We believe that housing is an issue that crosses ideological and sector lines, and that it’s possible to build a majority of political support.
The poverty issue also crosses sectorial lines and is high on many politicians’ agenda. Despite budget shortfalls, the political will to address the issue is strong among the centrist and religious parties, and shrewd coalition-building could further progress under any governing coalition.
Untangling Israel’s administrative boundaries and tax jurisdictions is hard and abstruse work – but the activists for distributive justice know that it is a key factor in improving opportunity in marginalized communities.
Soccer Players Unite Against Racism
The Team for Social Responsibility uses the role of sports in society to promote tolerance and equality.
ACRI and Bizchut Achieve Welfare Policy Change
For decades Israelis with mental health disabilities have faced hurdles when trying to obtain welfare services. Effective advocacy is changing that.
Civil Society Saves Bedouin Adult Education Program
An established program was under threat of a budget cut from the Ministry of Education. The program has impacted hundreds of lives in the severely underserved Bedouin community.
Speaking Out for Surrogacy for Gay Couples
After the Surrogacy Bill was shelved once again, MK Itzik Shmuli spoke out powerfully in favor of equal rights for gay couples.